NEW DELHI: On the back of low base of last year and strong buying during the nine-day Navratra festival, the country’s two-wheeler market reported strong sales growth in April 2024. The industry also registered a recovery on the export front despite the Red Sea crisis.
A senior two-wheeler industry executive said the sector continues to see recovery as the rural economy is showing signs of growth after a noticeable period. “Last month, 2W sales were also boosted by wedding season across India. Going forward, all eyes are on the monsoon season. The initial forecast of a normal monsoon is very supportive for the industry,” the executive said requesting not to be named.
The growth in two-wheeler sales bucked the wider auto industry trend as car sales stagnated in April. Top OEMs such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors reported 1-2% growth in April sales.
“Apr’24 domestic 2W retails (1.64 million units) were up 33% YoY/7% MoM with the onset of the wedding/harvesting season propelling demand. Following Mar’24’s record e-2W sales (140k units), retails plummeted 54% MoM to 65k units as subsidies shrunk. The extended subsidy scheme for e2Ws will be in play until Jul’24; post that, discounts will rest on the shoulders of vehicle PLI,” said analysts at ICICI securities.
Hero MotoCorp sold 5.33 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters in April 2024, translating into a robust 34.7% growth over the corresponding month (April 2023). Hero said that the volume growth in April highlights the company’s sales trend, especially in the 125cc and 400+cc segments.
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India’s (HMSI) total sales were slightly higher than Hero MotoCorp. During the month, the Japanese company dispatched 5,41,946 units of two-wheelers, registering a strong 45% YoY growth.